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The compact, chatty, self-absorbed world of Italian journalism was jolted when the industrialist and financier Carlo de Benedetti struck a deal this month that gives him control over two of the country's most influential publications, the daily newspaper La Repubblica and its sister weekly magazine, L'Espresso.

Italian journalists reacted as though the Visigoths were once more at the gates of Rome.

Mr. de Benedetti, chairman of the Olivetti computer company and a man with diverse holdings, has a reputation for buying properties and then selling them, all the while making clear that l'etat c'est lui. Having him in ultimate charge sent frissons of fear through the Rome offices of La Repubblica and L'Espresso.

But the situation was hardly unusual for Italy, where concentration of media power is permitted to a degree unknown in other major industrial countries. Certainly, the others have press barons and conglomerates. Italy alone, in a tradition going back many years, has had all its important newspapers snatched up by a handful of industrial titans with interests that extend far beyond the gathering of news.

Indeed, newspapers in the hands of Mr. de Benedetti and three other men account for more than 50 percent of Italy's national daily circulation of roughly seven million. Through their varied holdings, the four also account for more than half the shares traded on the Milan Stock Exchange.

''In this country, publishing no longer exists,'' said Valentino Parlato, chief editor of Il Manifesto, a left-wing Rome newspaper run as a cooperative of journalists and one of the few independents left. ''There are only industrialists and financiers who also put out newspapers.''

The strong concentration has produced calls for antitrust legislation, and Parliament is considering a bill that would limit simultaneous ownership of newspapers and television stations. It is not likely to be passed soon, however.

Adding to the shock of the de Benedetti deal was the fact that La Repubblica, although founded only 13 years ago, had built a strong reputation under the leadership of a charismatic editor, Eugenio Scalfari. Its daily circulation of more than 700,000 had been Italy's highest for several years, although it slipped recently to second place behind the venerable and respected Corriere della Sera, a Milan-based paper with national sales of roughly 800,000 a day.

Mr. Scalfari was a gadfly on all manner of political feasance - mis, mal and non. He introduced sprightly layouts and encouraged a writing style more popular than that generally favored by Italian journalists, who, as they themselves acknowledge, are often out to prove they are more polysyllabic than their readers. Many accuse Mr. Scalfari of stumbling into the excesses of tabloid journalism, but his standing in Italian journalism is unassailable. A Protest From Journalists

The shock of the deal was so strong that in mid-April staff members went on strike for 24 hours at La Repubblica and for three days at L'Espresso. Last week, reporters at the newspaper issued a resolution stating that ''the concentration of publications under the control of industrial and financial groups constitutes a total setback for the system of democratic guarantees in our country.''

In reality, as the reporters well knew, the newspaper was never fully a free spirit.

Mr. de Benedetti, through the large publishing company under his control, Arnaldo Mondadori Editori, was already a 50-50 partner of L'Espresso publishing group, which produces both L'Espresso magazine and La Repubblica.

Dominant shareholders in L'Espresso group were Mr. Scalfari and a partner, Carlo Caracciolo, and Mr. Scalfari enjoyed the deciding vote on editorial matters. Now, in theory, he has only as much authority as Mr. de Benedetti gives him.

The deal struck this month gives Mr. Scalfari and Mr. Caracciolo cash and Mondadori stock in exchange for a 52 percent share of L'Espresso group. It means that Mr. de Benedetti now has not only La Repubblica and L'Espresso but also 14 regional dailies and Panorama, another significant news weekly. Other Industrialist Owners

Another paper, Corriere della Sera, which is roughly the Italian equivalent of The New York Times or The Washington Post, is part of the Rizzoli Corriere della Sera publishing group. It is owned by a holding company that, in turn, is dominated by Giovanni Agnelli and his Fiat auto company, the country's most potent business.

Through the same holding company, Fiat controls the Milan-based Gazzetta dello Sport, Italy's leading sports daily. It also owns 100 percent of La Stampa, a Turin-based daily that has the third-highest circulation, 430,000.

The Ferruzzi Group, headed by Raul Gardini and perhaps best known for its Montedison chemicals company, controls both Il Messaggero, the major local newspaper in Rome, and Italia Oggi, a business daily.

And Silvio Berlusconi, who owns department stores, insurance companies and other interests, has control of Il Giornale, a Milan paper with a notable national voice.

Nor does the media concentration end with Messrs. de Benedetti, Agnelli, Gardini and Berlusconi. Several other prominent families own groups of less influential papers, and all major political parties have their own dailies, led in circulation by L'Unita, which may be the only Communist Party newspaper in the world to print stock tables.

As though that were not enough, the main economics and financial daily, Il Sole-24 Ore, is owned by Confindustria, the country's dominant business group. Disagreement on Consequences

The consequences of the situation are sometimes difficult to measure. Ugo Stille, chief editor of Corriere della Sera, said in an interview: ''I have never had any interference from the owner on the running of the paper, not once.'' His counterpart at La Stampa, Gaetano Scardocchia, said the same.

But editors and reporters at their newspapers insist that that hardly means the Agnelli point of view is ignored. ''There's no need for interference,'' a Corriere della Sera reporter said, ''because there's total self-censorship.''

Italian journalists say that the formidable concentration produces bland journalism, especially on economic matters and political issues close to their owners' hearts or pocketbooks.

At times, editorial decisions are striking. When Mr. de Benedetti tried vainly last year to take over Societe Generale de Belgique in Brussels, the story was considered big news and yet was shoved deep inside La Stampa, the paper owned by his bitter rival, Mr. Agnelli. This month's deal involving La Repubblica was on the front pages of every major paper but one - La Repubblica. Only Way to Survive? To some journalists, concentration may be an unavoidable way to insure survival in a country that lacks a grand tradition of newspaper-reading. The total daily circulation of seven million is relatively small in a nation of 57 million, and that figure would probably shrink by one million if not for the Lotto-style games that many papers began in January to raise sales.

Mr. Scalfari and others also argue that gigantism is Italy's only way to hold its own against foreign corporations after the economic integration of Western Europe in 1992.

Correction:May 4, 1989

Thursday, Late City Final Edition An article in the Media Business pages on April 24 about the ownership of Italian publications referred incorrectly to a leading Italian newspaper, La Stampa, and its coverage of an attempted takeover of a Belgian holding company by the financier Carlo de Benedetti. The newspaper, owned by Giovanni Agnelli, a business rival of Mr. de Benedetti, carried articles on the front page as well as inside.

A version of this article appears in print on , Section D, Page 1 of the National edition with the headline: THE MEDIA BUSINESS; Newspaper Deal in Italy Stirs Debate Over Press Freedom. Order Reprints | Today’s Paper | Subscribe